the following word starts with a spoken consonant
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the following word starts with a spoken vowel
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an aunt
an old school
an American girl
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Mind the pronunciation of the following word.
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The first sound we speak is [j], so we use a → a unit
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The first sound we speak is [ʌ], so we use an → an uncle
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Use of the indefinite article a/an
2.1. before phrases of time and measurements (per week/weekly)
We have English 4 times a week.
I go on holiday twice a year.
Our car can do 220 kilometres an hour.
Tomatoes are $2 a kilo.
2.2. before phrases of jobs
2.3. with a noun complement
2.4. before phrases of nationality
Bruce Springsteen is an American.
2.5. half/quite
We need half a pound of sugar.
This is quite a good story.
DEFINITE ARTICLE: THE
The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular memberof a group. For example:
"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.
"I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.
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